


Terrors

by allhailthenerdmage



Series: The Mining Town Four [4]
Category: Everyman HYBRID
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Childhood Trauma, Descriptions of a shotgun to the face, Fairmount Jeff's family, Fairmount Kids - Freeform, Family Feels, Murder-Suicide, Night Terrors, Platonic Cuddling, The Mining Town Four - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 04:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14204793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allhailthenerdmage/pseuds/allhailthenerdmage
Summary: Night terrors suck, but cuddle piles are pretty good.





	Terrors

The house is warm from the fire and smells like gingerbread. Ellie is lying on the couch, pencil scratching across the paper of her new diary as she records the events of the morning. His attention is mostly focused on his new toy though, a shiny red truck that is picking up deliveries near the roaring fireplace. Jeff’s mother watches them both fondly and sips her coffee, she shifts over as Ellie passes her the diary and they read together. 

The bed of Jeff’s truck pops off and he makes a discontented noise, trying to click it back on with all the brute force his small hands can muster. His head shoots up as he hears the kitchen door open, excited at the prospect of his father joining them in the living room. Mother gets up from the couch and goes to greet her husband, ruffling Jeff’s hair affectionately as she walks past him. 

A horrifically loud bang sounds from the kitchen and Ellie jumps, glancing up towards the sound. Something hits the floor and Jeff’s father makes an appearance in the living room. He stares quietly at the Christmas tree, then turns his eyes onto Jeff and Ellie. 

Father grins brightly at Jeff, seeming to have just come back from hunting as he is covered in chunks of some animal. He says, “Merry Christmas, Lovies.” 

And places the barrel of his shotgun against Ellie’s head. Before she can say anything he pulls the trigger. 

Jeff recoils from the loud sound and stares up at his father in utter confusion as he kneels down to Jeff’s level. He fixes the truck and hands it back to Jeff with a smile, “I love you, Jeffrey.” A soft kiss is pressed to his forehead.

The truck is placed somewhere out of Jeff’s vision as he attempts to understand what is happening. "Daddy... why did you do that to Ellie?" He points to the hole in Ellie’s face. 

Father strides over to the tree and runs a soft hand over Jeff’s favorite ornament, the little toy soldier they had made together over the summer. Finally he looks back at Jeff with a sad gaze, "Son... the Man made me do it."

He puts the tip of his shotgun in his mouth and the bang makes Jeff jump again. It ring in his ears and he cannot get the sound of his father’s body hitting the ground out of his head. Suddenly the ringing gets louder and it is all Jeff can hear. His skin crawls and it feels as though something is clawing into his skull. Jeff screams as loud as he can, hoping to scare whatever is hurting him off. He screams until he has no breath left in him and the something seems to crush his chest, preventing Jeff from taking another breath.

His lungs burn and his body thrashes around as he attempts to break free from the threat. Hands slam down on his shoulders and hold him in place while someone strokes his hair gently, whispering reassurances and soft words. Another pair of hands grasp his ankles and manage to stop his erratic kicking.

Finally he opens his eyes with a gasp and relaxes into his siblings’ hold. He vaguely registers tears streaming down his cheeks as Evan lets go of his shoulders and helps him sit up. Evan keeps one arm wrapped around Jeff’s shoulders, the warmth and weight of his arm helping to keep Jeff grounded. 

“Hey,” Steph’s voice is soft and she continues stroking his hair with a gentle smile. “Mornin’, Jeff.”

“Hi, Stephie.” Jeff returns the smile with some difficulty, voice hoarse and scratchy from screaming. “Sorry I woke you guys up.”

“It's okay, Jeffers.” Evan grins at him, rubbing his tears away with his pyjama sleeve. “The sun is coming up anyway.”

Jeff glances up at the window and is amused to note that the sun is absent from the sky. The only light coming in the room stems from the moon and its reflection in the window. He raises an eyebrow at Evan, who shrugs with a grin.  

“Same dream as always?” Vinny asks, he runs the heels of his hands up and down Jeff’s forearms. The repetitive movement helping to relax his tense muscles. 

“Yeah, the Christmas one. With Ellie and Dad.”

“Shit man, you need us to get you something?” Evan asks, dodging Steph’s elbow at the curse word. “Water or something?”

“No, I’m alright. I just need to calm down.” Jeff assures them, smiling gratefully at each of his siblings. They grin back and Evan squeezes his shoulder gently.

“Alright then, we know how to do that don’t we Steph?”

Steph nods and ruffles Jeff’s hair, getting up from their little pile to retrieve her and Vinny’s blankets from their beds. She lays the sheets out on the floor and tosses a few of their pillows down. For her finishing touch she drags the blankets from the top bunks down and throws them over top of Jeff, Evan, and Vinny. 

They move carefully to lay on either side of Jeff, Evan and Steph on his right side and Vinny curled up next to Jeff’s left side. Steph continues running her hands through Jeff’s hair and he hums happily. Vinny snorts at the noise but lays an arm across Jeff’s stomach, Evan mirroring the movement as Jeff attempts to hold back new tears. Vinny sighs, wiping away his tears with a gentle hand, “Sleep well, Jeffrey.”


End file.
